"We will miss seeing Mr Nichols at the NGA meets each year. He was such a kind person and we enjoyed visiting with him each meet. Kevin and Bethany Fulton"
In loving memory of
Joe Nichols
January 21, 1922 - August 8, 2018
Joe Nichols, 96, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his daughter's home in South Sioux City, Wednesday, August 8 , 2018. A family memorial service will be held in Asbury, Missouri at a later date.
Joe was born on January 21 , 1922 in Asbury, Missouri, the son of Walter and Nora (McMullen) Nichols. He joined the Navy in 1940 when he was 18 and served aboard the USS California; the battleship USS Washington BB-56 from 1941-1943; served stateside in Miami, Florida, earning numerous medals and commendations, until his honorable discharge in 1946. He married Elizabeth Lamont on February 6 , 1942, and was married almost 72 years until she passed away in 2013.
Joe was a lifelong educator, beginning his career in 1947 as a High School English teacher in West Mineral, Kansas and later earning his Educational Doctorate in Secondary Education at Colorado State University in Boulder, Colorado in 1952. He served as Chairman of the Department of Education and Psychology at Wayne State College in Nebraska, was the Assistant Superintendent in both Fremont, Nebraska, and Longmont, Colorado, headed the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado and was the Superintendent of Schools in Commerce City, Colorado before retiring to Bartow, Florida in 1981. He lived in Bartow until he moved to South Sioux City a few weeks ago.
He was a member of the National Greyhound Racing Association and has attended the Fall and Spring meets in Abilene, Kansas for over twenty years. He was an early member of the Floral Lakes Homeowner's Association in Bartow, Florida and served as the President from 1986-1989.
Survivors include his three children: Michael and his wife Sara of Olympia, WA; David and his wife Espie of Bartow, FL; Vicki Winterlin and her husband Keith Nelson of South Sioux City, NE, three grandchildren Gabriel Nichols and his wife Sheri of Port Angeles, WA; Timothy Winterlin and his wife Maggie of Hooper, NE; John Nichols and his wife Casey of Portland, ME; four great-grandchildren Joseph, Johanna, River, and Frances; his sister, Hope Phelan of Miami, FL, and several nieces and nephews.